Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to treatment of spinal deformities in a subject. In particular, the present disclosure relates to apparatus, methods, and systems for treating and/or aligning lateral translations in a subject, including but not limited to scoliosis or other deviations in a subject's spine.
Description of Related Art
Spinal deformities may be caused by congenital factors, neuromuscular disease, or by other factors. A spinal lateral translation may result in undesirable symptoms and complications, such as muscular fatigue, chronic pain in the shoulder, neck and/or back, nerve pinching, affected physical appearance, lung damage, and heart damage.
Scoliosis is generally defined as a spinal lateral translation having a Cobb angle of more than ten degrees. However, even subjects having lateral translations with a Cobb angle of 10 degrees or less may suffer from the foregoing symptoms or complications.
Current treatment methods for spinal deformities include various braces. In general, braces are understood to be essentially ineffective as a corrective measure, but may be used to prevent further progression of deformities of the spine.
In some treatments, the subject is put into skeletal traction in an attempt to correct a spinal deformity. For example, a subject may be strapped into a harness having anchor points on a separate structure beside the subject. The anchor points are typically mounted to a wall or other structure. The harness is tightened to apply lateral forces at the spinal deformities of the subject. A traction treatment session may typically last 20-30 minutes. Sessions may be repeated on a regular basis.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present disclosure.